Defining Dementia , In April 2012, less than a year after having been diagnosed with early-onset dementia, Alzheimer type, American collegiate women’s basketball coach Pat Summitt—the winningest coach in the history of NCAA basketball—retired. She was 59 years old at the time, and though her memory was beginning to fail her, she outwardly appeared healthy, a fact that underscored the tragedy of her condition and dementia’s reputation as a silent killer. Likewise, film star Rita Hayworth was only 62 years old when she was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease, though she had exhibited symptoms for more than a decade. The public revelation of her condition helped to destigmatize the degenerative disorder, as did the news in 1994 that U.S. Pres. Ronald Reagan (then 83) had been diagnosed with the disease.

Image courtesy of the National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health

Each year 7.7 million people are diagnosed with dementia, the most common form of which is Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer disease is characterized by an impaired ability to think and remember and by changes in mood and social behaviour. It is irreversible and progressive, and while some cases are inherited, the majority are sporadic and thus have no known cause.

In fact, outside of traumatic brain injury, certain infectious diseases and metabolic disorders, nutritional deficiencies, and vascular diseases that affect the brain, such as stroke, few instances of dementia have an identifiable cause. This is particularly true of Lewy body dementia, which is characterized by the formation of alpha-synuclein protein deposits (Lewy bodies) in brain regions involved in thinking and movement and for which no causal factors have been discovered (although it appears to be related to Alzheimer and Parkinson diseases). Whereas genetic mutations were associated with certain subtypes of frontotemporal dementia, in which neuronal degeneration in the frontal and temporal lobes leads to altered personality and loss of language skills, more than half of affected individuals have no family history of dementia.

By 2012 the number of people affected by dementia had reached an all-time high, and researchers estimated that the number would continue to increase, with the 35.6 million people affected in 2010 nearly doubling to 65.7 million by 2030. The population considered to be at greatest immediate risk was the baby-boomer generation—people born between 1946 and 1964—a significant proportion of whom were expected to live well beyond age 65, at which age the chance of developing Alzheimer disease begins to double every five years.

These numbers, because of their potential impacts on health care and the economy, raised concerns globally. In 2010 alone the global economic burden of dementia was estimated at $604 billion. Two years later, with more severe economic impacts looming, the U.S. government proposed to increase national funding for dementia research. The U.K. followed suit.

Dementia Detection

There are three stages of dementia—early (mild), middle (moderate), and late (severe). The way in which symptoms associated with these stages manifest, however, varies markedly, and there is considerable overlap between stages. The early stage, which typically is characterized by symptoms such as difficulty judging distances visually or finding the right word when speaking or writing, often is so subtle as to go unnoticed. Yet research indicated that even in this early phase, pathophysiological changes in the brain, which may be associated with the later development of Alzheimer disease, are evident. Often these changes were initiated years, or in some cases even decades, prior to clinical diagnosis.

Early pathophysiological changes of dementia are associated with the eventual formation of neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain, which can be detected in relatively advanced stages of disease with diagnostic imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography (PET). Efforts to increase the sensitivity of imaging technologies enabled the detection of certain dementia-related changes earlier in disease development. The utility of imaging alone as a method for early detection, however, was limited by the inability to distinguish between these changes as they occur across the various forms of dementia, as well as across non-dementia-associated neurodegenerative disorders.

The task of catching dementia early focused increasingly on detection of biomarkers in blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF; biomarkers are biochemical changes indicative of and specific to a given disease). CSF biomarkers, such as the proteins beta amyloid (or amyloid beta) and tau, for example, which occur as deposits associated with neuronal plaques and tangles, were found to distinguish Alzheimer disease from other forms of dementia. The development of methods to detect these substances was aided by the realization that in persons who carry genetic mutations associated with familial (inherited) early-onset Alzheimer disease, changes in CSF biomarkers, amyloid deposition in the brain, and brain metabolism occurred decades before cognitive decline became apparent. The ability to detect these changes far in advance of symptom onset was expected to fuel the development of improved preventive and therapeutic strategies for dementia.

Keeping the Brain Agile

An important diagnostic indicator of dementia is reduced brain volume. Reductions in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, for example, were discovered to be predictive for mild cognitive impairment and progression to dementia.

A schematic shows neurons and a synapse (inset). Neurons respond to new information acquired …

Image courtesy of the National Institute on Aging/National Institutes of Health

In general, brain size is governed by the growth and survival of neurons, processes that are central to neuroplasticity—the ability of neurons to modulate their activity and rewire their connections in response to new environmental inputs. In the first few years of life, the human brain grows rapidly, and neurons form numerous synapses (connections with other neurons). Sensory stimulation promotes the development of efficient neuronal connections, and connections that are not stimulated are pared away. Throughout development, even as established pathways become more robust, neurons continue to adapt and change when new information is learned.

Because the adult brain retains much of the plasticity of its youth, the continued ability of neurons to adapt to new information was identified as a potential mechanism by which the brain protects itself against dementia. Central to this idea was neurogenesis. When neurons adapt to new information, they grow new branches or strengthen existing ones, and scientists suspected that this could act to maintain brain volume. Notions persisted that continued learning in mid- and late life could help prevent dementia. Though this idea was popularized and leveraged by companies through so-called “brain training” products, the scientific basis for these products remained unclear.

Likewise, while research suggested that certain nutritional factors and exercise could facilitate neurogenesis and the adaptive capabilities of neural networks, thereby staving off dementia, the biological mechanisms underlying these effects were not well understood. Still, interesting associations were uncovered. For example, high caffeine (coffee) intake in persons with mild cognitive impairment had been associated with a reduced risk of progression to dementia, and an exercise regime emphasizing resistance training had been found to enhance cognitive function in senior women (ages 70–80) with self-reported memory complaints.

The relationship between physical activity and cognitive function was especially intriguing. In studies conducted on humans and animals, exercise was found to promote neurogenesis and improve cognition, particularly with regard to learning and memory formation. These cognitive activities were linked to a substance known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which helped to protect neurons from degeneration in animal models of Alzheimer disease and was produced in elevated concentrations in the brains of exercising humans.

Other research suggested that exercise may maintain or improve cognition through its effects on cardiovascular health and blood circulation in the brain. In animals, exercise was found to stimulate the growth of new cells in certain regions of the brain. The growth of these cells, along with the growth of new blood vessels, increased nutrient delivery to the brain. In addition, increased production of neurotrophic substances such as BDNF, could explain the cognitive benefits of exercise.